As we approach World AIDS Day, Guy opened a short debate in the Lords on 20th October about the progress on the Government's target to eliminate new HIV infections by 2030.
He said that "while progress is greatly welcome—I applaud the Government’s efforts and commitment in this area— unless we move much more quickly, we have no chance of meeting the target of eliminating new infections by 2030."
He pointed out that there were still over 3,000 new diagnoses in 2024 —"a stubbornly high figure" — while HIV rates among black African heterosexual men had in fact been increasing. He also noted that "there are up to 12,000 individuals lost to care; they are aware that they have the virus but are not accessing life-saving drugs that would stop them passing it on."
He asked the Government to look at two initiative to help speed up progress: "The first is to make sure that PrEP is available outside sexual health clinics; and the second is to ensure there is a dedicated team of caseworkers in every HIV clinic who are laser-focused on finding those who are lost to care and getting them back on treatment."
The full transcript can be read here.
